Earth abundant transparent conductors for photovoltaics

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Current trends in solar energy conversion have led to an increased interest in the incorporation of earth-abundant oxides and atomically thin semiconductor in photovoltaics. The production of these materials offers the benefits of scalability and low carbon footprint, however, the incorporation of lightly doped polycrystalline materials is likely to introduce losses into energy harvesting devices, reducing their efficiency to the point of impracticality. The aim of this project is to develop a framework for increasing the efficiency of polycrystalline materials for use in energy harvesting devices. The work will focus on two intertwined research efforts: (1) experimental quantification of charge carrier dynamics across ultrathin semiconductors, with an emphasis on charge retention phenomena near the grain boundaries, and (2) the development of a theoretical framework for accurate description of transport in such materials. In a later stage of this project, the accumulated body of knowledge will allow the candidate to engineer the morphology of the material, by means of tuning the growth parameters and annealing steps, to optimise its efficiency.The experimental work in this project will be based on two surface analysis instruments, unique to Durham University: The Microwave Impedance Microscope that quantifies surface photovoltaic properties at a resolution of tens of nanometres, and the Internal Photoemission Optical Beam Induced Current Microscope, that was designed in Durham specifically for studying interface dynamics at junctions and interfaces. The theoretical work in this project will rely on finite element semiconductor simulator that will feed into a continuous time stochastic solver.